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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26956777">Wildfire</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/imagined_haven/pseuds/imagined_haven'>imagined_haven</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angry Sex, F/M, Knifeplay, Public Sex</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 19:01:59</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,466</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26956777</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/imagined_haven/pseuds/imagined_haven</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Rowan Whitethorn has been sent to Varese under orders from his queen, to find a girl with wildfire in her veins.</p><p>Celaena Sardothien has been in Varese for several days now, and with nothing to lose she makes several gambles. Some work out better for her than others.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aelin Ashryver Galathynius | Celaena Sardothien/Rowan Whitethorn</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>100</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Wildfire</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rowan Whitethorn sat in a shadowy corner of the <em>taberna</em>, eyes fixed on a game of cards taking place not far from him. He did not usually frequent such establishments—or rather, not in Wendlyn, he had spent a great deal of time in such places elsewhere—but his mark was here, and so he came to observe.</p><p>She was doing a terrible job of cheating at cards, almost as though she wanted to be caught, but thus far those seated at the table hadn’t thrown any accusations in her direction. Her golden-blonde hair was messily braided back, as though she knew it would need to be bound back for some future plan but had scarcely bothered to care about her appearance.</p><p>Someone approached him as if to eject him from the table he was shamelessly taking all to himself, but one glare was enough to encourage the other to leave. Most of the patrons had been giving him a wide berth for the duration of the evening, his pointed ears marking him as Fae and the tattoo down his face marking him as <em>other</em>. That was fine with him. He preferred it that way, even.</p><p>A laugh rang from the table where the cards game was continuing and he turned his attention back to his target. She was running low on funds despite her attempts at cheating, which was likely why none of the others had pointed out her actions, but as he watched she removed a glimmering ring from her finger and set it on the table, eyes downcast as though she was focusing on what she had just offered as collateral. He knew, however, it was for a different reason.</p><p>If anyone paid close enough attention to her eyes, after all, it would be impossible to ignore the girl’s obvious Ashryver heritage in the capital of the country her extended family ruled. Those eyes, combined with her golden hair and the heat of a powerful gift of fire magic for those who could sense it as he could, would mark her as Aelin Galathynius for anyone who looked too closely.</p><p>He wasn’t certain what would happen if she should be discovered, or what she was even doing here in the first place. But his queen had sent him to follow this girl, to find her and bring her away from this place, and he had no choice but to obey. Even if she hadn’t, he couldn’t deny the pull he felt toward her. Aelin could have easily commanded the attention of the entire room if only she’d desired it, could do so much better than how she was currently choosing to spend her time, and a flicker of heat began to burn in him as their eyes met for a single moment that seemed to stretch on for minutes. </p><p>Rowan frowned as those blue eyes ringed with gold looked him up and down, knowing it was a dangerous move for her to take her attention from the men before her. However, he found he couldn’t look away from the spirit of wildfire flickering in her eyes, a match for the power he knew lingered in her core. Before anyone else noticed her distraction, fortunately, she turned her attention back to the game of cards, carelessly flicking her braid over her shoulder.</p><p>The men at the table evidently accepted the ring as valuable enough. Was it an old family heirloom she had held onto after all these years? No, a closer look revealed the ring to be silver set with a semiprecious gem, hardly valuable at all in comparison to the gems a royal such as herself would likely have had access to. It was also less likely to have been stolen during her time gallivanting about Erilea as an assassin; surely she would have found better marks and this ring would not have been worth her time. What significance did it have to her, then? Did it have any at all?</p><p>Rowan shook his head. This was irrelevant information, and he was spending too long wondering about it. No, instead he watched as all of the girl’s tells suddenly shifted. She had been leading these men on the whole time about her abilities, then, and he leaned subtly in her direction as he saw a tiny but feral grin grace her features.</p><p>Feeling the charge in the air, Rowan subtly straightened his pale coat and felt for the hilt of the knife he’d tucked into knee-high boots. Either the men would catch her at cheating or they would be angered that she had conned them into gambling away more money than they’d planned on losing. Regardless of the precise accusation, it didn’t take someone with his experience in battle to tell a fight was brewing. It would be best to end it before it could begin, he decided, and in a single smooth motion he stood with the knife in hand. A quick twirl of the blade around his fingers righted its position within his grasp, and as he approached the table he took a moment to survey the surroundings.</p><p>Attacking any of the men would be likely to start the brawl the girl was obviously hoping for. That left making a move against the girl herself, and he allowed himself a feral grin at the pleasure the thought brought to him.</p><p>Quickly, his feet sure and silent as he crossed the room, he stepped behind her and carefully held the blade in his hand to her throat, his free hand coming to rest on her shoulder. The hand on her shoulder allowed him to feel her shiver at the cool steel of the knife, as well as her sudden stillness after. The men with whom she’d been playing all paused and looked at him, and he let them take in the tattoo along the left side of his face, the points of his ears, and the gleam in his eyes. “Thank you,” he said quietly, “for keeping this one distracted long enough for me to find her. You can keep whatever silver she gambled away as a reward, but I’m afraid she’s <em>mine</em> to deal with.”</p><p>The men who had been more than ready to start a fight against a deceptively defenseless girl were much less willing to come between a Fae warrior and his mark, and they quickly nodded their agreement. As they were scrambling to divide the coins between themselves he carefully palmed the ring that was still sitting on the table before wrapping his hand around her upper arm and urging her to stand.</p><p>While it would attract unneeded attention to leave his knife at her throat as he walked her out of the <em>taberna</em>, he laid the flat of the blade against her lower back just under the hem of her shirt, a threat and a promise of what was to come if she made any sudden movements.</p>
<hr/><p>Celaena had not come to the <em>taberna</em> that night in the hopes of provoking attention from one of the Fae. In fact, she had deliberately selected one that magic users avoided. However, she supposed it was just as well that she get this over with. She had known when she came to Varese that she would likely attract attention, though she had not expected one of the Fae warriors to find her so quickly.</p><p>He was still standing so close behind her as he marched her out of the building and down the alleys of the city’s underbelly, close enough that she could feel the firmness of his muscled frame and the warmth of his body. The contrast of the warmth of the male behind her and the cool blade he still held to her back shimmered in her senses, and it was quickly becoming difficult to focus on where exactly he was taking her.</p><p>As they walked, she realized he was leading her toward alleys the city guards usually failed to patrol regularly. Her days of roaming these streets had taught her a great deal about their patterns, and she realized with a shiver that soon they would be truly alone.</p><p>She quickly turned her mind toward ways she could turn this situation to her advantage. She was reasonably certain a warrior of this strength would be one of the blood-sworn she had heard so much about, meaning he was likely doing this under orders and unlikely to actually hurt her in any lasting way. However, he clearly had no problems toying with the threat of violence if the knife that was still laid against her back was any indication, and as they reached whatever destination he had in mind it reappeared at her throat as he shoved her against a wall.</p><p>In terms of fighting her way out she was hopelessly outmatched, she realized with a shiver. This male had quite possibly trained for centuries, both in fighting and in magic if she was correct, and she was in a disadvantageous position.</p><p>That left trying to talk her way out, which would be difficult at best but better than nothing. “So assertive,” she said, allowing her lips to curve into an easy grin. “Whatever did I do to you?”</p><p>The blade at her throat cooled further, and she felt the spark of magic in the air. So she was right about his magic, then. “You know <em>exactly</em> what you’ve done,” he replied, green eyes glimmering in the dimmed lights of the town around them.</p><p>“Do I get to know your name, or are you just going to keep me here all night with no idea what to call you?” she asked, and she felt the blade at her throat falter. Not a question he had been expecting, then. That was fine by her. She could work with unexpected.</p><p>The male seemed unimpressed when she glanced back up at his face, though he did finally grunt out a name. “Rowan.”</p><p>“Rowan,” she purred. “Well met. I’m Celaena, but I’m guessing you already knew that.” And as she continued, she allowed an edge of her irritation to creep into her voice. “And you’ve absolutely made a mess of my plans for the evening.”</p><p>Those green eyes darkened as she glared up at him. “Starting brawls in city slums is beneath you and we both know it.”</p><p>“And I would’ve thought taking girls from the street was beneath both you and your queen, but here we are,” she retorted, and he pressed closer against her with a snarl.</p><p>Oh, she could <em>definitely</em> work with that, she thought with a grin as she deliberately arched her back. One leg came up to wrap around him, foot tucked neatly behind his knee, and she allowed the thrill she felt at the warmth of him to show on her face.</p><p>It was a dangerous game for someone like her, attempting to seduce an immortal soldier, but she had seen him watching her in the <em>taberna</em>. He had made his displeasure evident by the expression on his face and the way he had removed her from the building, but she had also glimpsed the heat of his gaze. She would have to play this carefully, but it was her best chance to get free.</p><p>It certainly wasn’t a hardship, she thought with a grin as she allowed her eyes to trace the lines of the tattoo that marked his face. He was everything she could ask for in a partner despite her irritation with how they’d met, tall and strong and utterly unafraid of her. She arched her back again, allowing her head to tip back against the wall, and smirked as he growled. The knife had lowered almost imperceptibly, but she knew she had his attention now.</p><p>The warrior tucked the knife away into the belt he wore around his waist, but soon the cold kiss of steel was replaced with canines tracing along her neck. Celaena shivered, both at the danger those teeth represented and at the thrill of eliciting such a reaction from him. Gods, it had been so long…</p><p>Focus. She had to focus if she was going to come out of this on top, and a surge of anger swept through her at how easily he was turning the situation back to his advantage. “So tell me, <em>Rowan</em>,” she murmured, her own teeth grazing the point of his ear. “Now that you have me, what are you going to do with me?”</p><p>Before he could reply, she used the leg she’d hooked around him to draw him closer, rubbing herself up against the heat and firmness of him. He growled and pressed her against the wall more firmly, but she smirked as she felt the unsteadiness of his breath at her throat.</p>
<hr/><p>Aelin <em>had</em> to know exactly what she was doing, he realized with a growl. It had been a mistake to lead her away like this, to take her to a place she could use to her advantage. That being said, though, he could tell she wasn’t as unaffected as she wanted him to believe. With his position at her throat he could feel her racing pulse and see the flush of her skin. A slight shift of his weight allowed one of his thighs to press against her core, and he watched in satisfaction as she shivered, hips involuntarily pressing herself in closer.</p><p>If this was the game she wanted to play, he was more than happy to play along. After all, nothing in the order from his queen had specified the condition in which he was to return with the girl.</p><p>It was the work of a few moments to retrieve the knife from his belt and slice her shirt open from collar to hem, and he smirked at her indignant glare. “What is Hellas’ realm are you <em>doing</em>?” she hissed, one hand holding the two halves of the fabric together.</p><p>“Making sure you understand what sort of game you’re trying to play, <em>princess</em>,” he growled back as he watched her eyes darken with a combination of anger and the lust she was obviously trying to pretend she didn’t feel.</p><p>“You <em>do</em> realize I’m going to have to walk around the city like this later,” she snarled.</p><p>“Perhaps you should’ve thought of that before you decided to try provoking me,” he replied.</p><p>She growled at him in response, but shivered as one of his hands slipped under the shirt to trace patterns up her side. He watched cold calculation war with the wildfire heat in her eyes as he slid that hand back down to her hip, with the heat overtaking them as he began to toy with the ties of her trousers.</p><p>She finally arched into the touch once more, all the more appealing for its artlessness, and he smirked as he slipped the tips of his fingers below the loosened ties.</p><p>Her skin was just as heated here as it was over her pulse, damp with sweat and desire, and a quick circle of one of his fingertips had her gasping a soft noise into his ear. His victorious grin against her neck turned into one of satisfaction at the sound. “That’s all it takes?” he asked as he teased her pulse once more with his teeth. “Just one touch and you’ve given in, just like that?”</p><p>She snarled, but before she could voice a reply he pressed that finger into the heat of her and her snarl melted into a moan.</p><p>Gods, if she was this responsive at the slightest touch they were going to get caught like this, frequently patrolled area or not. Still, he couldn’t quite suppress the pleasure that coiled within him at the knowledge that he could reduce her to this with nothing more than a few short words and a few touches, nor could he resist the urge to press the hard length of his cock against her thigh as his finger curled inside her. “Careful, princess,” he breathed against her skin. “You wouldn’t want us to be found like this, would you?”</p><p>He pulled back just enough to get another look at her face and smirked as he met her hazy turquoise gaze lined with golden fire. “Then I’d suppose you’d better hurry up,” she panted. A glance down the rest of her matched the evidence of pleasure he’d found in her eyes. The shirt he’d sliced open was gapping once more at her chest, exposing flushed skin and the curve of her breasts heaving with her every labored breath. Through the thin fabric he could see the outline of her peaked nipples, and it took a monumental effort to restrain himself from reaching out and tweaking one in favor of enjoying the rest of the view before him.</p><p>His finger inside her had stilled in favor of focusing his attention on watching her, though it seemed to not be enough for her. Her hips arched away from the wall, and she did her best given the lack of leverage she had to rock up and down on him, growling again as he stopped her movements with a single press of his other hand low on her abdomen. She gasped and squirmed against the hold, but he had the upper hand here and he knew she knew it.</p><p>Finally she managed another sentence. “Are you going to just stand there,” she demanded, “or are you going to—”</p><p>His lips crushed against hers, in part to silence her and in part to savor her surprise. As he trailed his lips and teeth along her jaw and back down her neck in kiss after biting kiss, he debated his answer to her. It was a shameless ploy to regain dominance over him, and part of him grudgingly admired the attempt, clumsy as it was. While he would love nothing more than to slow down in response, maybe pull his finger back out of her entirely and focus only on teasing touches to her clit until she was whimpering and begging against him, he was also aware of their surroundings and the lack of time he had to elicit such a reaction.</p><p>Instead of a verbal reply, he moved both hands back to her hips, ignoring her whine of displeasure at the sudden lack of contact in favor of tugging her trousers down. With a firm grip, he lifted one of her legs again, working the fabric around the boot she wore until the clothing was dangling from a single ankle, trailing in the dust of the alley.</p><p>“<em>Finally</em>,” she breathed, her fingers tugging at the laces of his own trousers until he could spring free of them.</p><p>He smirked back at her, wrapping her bared leg around his waist as he carefully positioned himself. “Be careful what you wish for,” he taunted, and then he was pressing into her.</p>
<hr/><p><em>Gods</em>, but Celaena had miscalculated, losing the upper hand in just a few short moments. As his thick length shoved into her, though, she couldn’t feel any regret.</p><p>It was quickly growing difficult to focus on anything but the delightful stretch of his cock inside of her where she needed it most, but she mustered what she could and looked up at him, meeting pine-green eyes blown wide with lust and watching as silver hair fell into the male’s face.</p><p>Her leg was anchored around his hip already, and Celaena wrapped both of her arms around his shoulders, both to keep him close and for balance as she arched away from the wall and pressed herself against him, urging him on.</p><p>As their hips met she gasped at the size of him, at the stretch that rode the perfect edge between<em> too much</em> and <em>so good</em>, and allowed her head to once more tip back against the wall. The male—<em>Rowan</em>—growled as the movement exposed her throat to him once more, and she knew without looking that his gaze would be fixed on the pulse hammering there. Fae were territorial creatures, operating on instinct far more than humans, and she knew that the exposure of such a vulnerable spot would drive him wild.</p><p>She had long since given up on getting the upper hand in this situation, if she was being honest with herself. Now, her only goal was to drive him as insane as he was driving her.</p><p>Sure enough, the hand that wasn’t holding her leg up wound its way up to her braid, tugging her head sharply to the side as his teeth grazed her neck once more. As he teased her neck his cock stayed maddeningly still within her, but she couldn’t appreciate the control that must have taken from him. Not when he was <em>still</em> holding back from giving her what she needed. With a rock of her hips against him, she growled, “Stop rutting teasing me and <em>move</em> already, I—”</p><p>The words melted into a sharp cry as he did just that, the sound of skin on skin soon filling the narrow alleyway. Gods, and she’d thought the feeling was good when he’d first entered her. The movement was exquisite, his cock filling her completely over and over as she clenched helplessly around him. Closer, she needed him even closer, and she braced her shoulders against the wall behind her and lifted her other leg as well, hooking her ankles together around his waist.</p><p>The movement gave her just enough room to slide one of her hands down off of his shoulder, tracing stuttering patterns over his chest through his shirt before it drew near to where they were joined, near to where his cock was now thrusting fast and hard into her. She circled a single fingertip around her own clit and gasped at the sensation, fire rapidly building inside her core at the touch and the size of him and the way he was still manhandling her, shoving her again and again with each thrust further into the wall of this dingy little alleyway—</p><p>His elongated canines sank into her neck and something within her snapped. It was all she could do not to scream his name as she trembled and shook with the orgasm he’d wrung from her so seemingly effortlessly, clinging to him as he continued to move against her.</p><p>He growled against her neck, his hands moving again until they were both clutching at her hips, tugging her against him as he continued to fuck her against the wall. The shift in position changed the angle of his cock moving inside her, and she bit her lip in what she hoped was a successful attempt to muffle the moan he tore out of her.</p><p>“Aelin,” he hissed in her ear, the sound both a warning and a plea, and just like that she tumbled over the edge again, clinging to him desperately, hands fisting in whatever fabric she could reach as her pleasure curled in her core and she clenched around his cock.</p><p>This time he was only able to continue for a handful of hard thrusts before he was trembling too, face pressed against the skin of her neck as his cock twitched and spilled inside of her. With the energy she had remaining she tugged him into a kiss, reveling at the way he quickly took it over and claimed her mouth as he had claimed the rest of her.</p><p>As they both struggled to catch their breath, chest heaving, Celaena squirmed until his cock slipped out of her and lowered her trembling legs back to the ground. Her hands remained fisted in his shirt, as she was relatively certain that without his support she wouldn’t be standing now.</p><p>As her breath began to settle into something approximating normal, she gave the Fae warrior a dazzling grin. “So tell me,” she murmured into his ear, “how upset do you think Galan would be if he found out I agreed to his little meeting entirely for the chance to do this?”</p>
<hr/><p>Rowan groaned and shoved at his mate’s shoulder as she laughed, causing her to stumble back against the wall that had been supporting them. “You’re incorrigible, and you’d best hope your cousin <em>doesn’t</em> learn that you sailed across the sea purely to indulge yourself in a misguided fantasy,” he replied.</p><p>“Please,” Aelin grinned. “It’s hardly misguided. You admitted years ago that even when we first met you couldn’t deny that pull you felt. Not to mention, it didn’t take me long at all to convince you.”</p><p>It really hadn’t taken her long, and if Rowan had the presence of mind to do so he would probably be at least a little embarrassed by that. However, in the years of being married to Aelin he had long since learned that she would get what she wanted one way or another. “There’s a perfectly good bed waiting in our room across town,” he pointed out. “This is an awfully long way to go to get me to—”</p><p>“Och, it’s not about getting you into bed,” she protested.</p><p>“I know,” Rowan replied, and he did know. The bond between them told him everything he needed to know about how this had soothed away some rough edge that lingered on in her from everything they had been through. Her eyes flashed up at him, bright with a teasing glimmer as she finally worked her way back into her trousers. </p><p>“I’m still upset about you ruining my shirt, by the way,” she grinned. “You’ll have to make that up to me.”</p><p>He obediently handed over his cloak, settling the fabric over her shoulders. While not perfect, as it was too long for her, she would be able to wrap herself in it as they walked back to their rooms across town and hide the shirt from anyone who gave her a casual glance. He pulled the hood up and finally tucked her loosely braided hair behind pointed ears, smiling as she leaned into his touch. “That should do until we get you back,” he said.</p><p>The golden fire that lined her eyes flashed once more as she looked up at him. “Oh, that’s not what I meant,” she grinned. “No, you’re going to be a <em>very</em> busy male tonight, I’m afraid.”</p><p>Rowan fought back a groan at the promise in her smirk and her eyes. “You <em>do</em> realize we still have to actually make it across town, right?”</p><p>“Oh, I know,” she admitted easily. “Part of you making it up to me is you ensuring we get there <em>quickly</em>, so you can—”</p><p>Aelin’s words cut off with a gasp and a laugh as he scooped her up into his arms, walking as quickly as he could without arousing suspicion. After all, his queen had given an order, and he intended to obey.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you all for reading! Hope you enjoyed. ;)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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